


Until The Stars Fall From The Sky

by sweetly_disposed



Series: Madame Viola's Circus [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Angst, Circus!AU, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Protective Harry, Smut, Trapeze direction, TrapezeArtist!Harry, creepy guys with no boundaries, no seriously endless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 01:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3099509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetly_disposed/pseuds/sweetly_disposed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to 'Like The Wings of Butterflies'. </p><p>'And then, like the first time Louis had ever set eyes on him, a single light lit Harry up, standing on the platform way above their heads. His body was angled towards the crowd, both arms spread out to the sides, palms out. All Louis’ breath left him in one go. He could see Harry’s face; the wide smile and the shining eyes. As Louis watched him, his head turned down towards Louis and he winked.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sat in my to do list forever- it was only meant to be a couple of thousand words long as a little sequel, but it got a bit out of hand and now it’s nearly as long as the original story...oops?
> 
> Title comes from ‘Baby, I’m Yours’ by the Arctic Monkeys.
> 
> Disclaimer: This is my own original work, please do not post it anywhere else on the internet without my express permission.

The day Louis found out, it was a sunny Tuesday morning in April and he was on his way into work. Yawning, he glanced at his watch, speeding up a little when he realized that he was dragging his feet and was going to be late if he wasn’t careful. He really didn’t need to be late to work; his manager would probably find some god awful way of torturing him as punishment, like making him clean the toilets. Again.

He’d started shrugging his jacket off to offer some relief from the warmth of the sun on his shoulders when he saw it. He glanced once quickly at the lamppost on his way past, and then abruptly doubled back, stopping and peering down at the poster affixed to said lamppost. Its bright yellow background had been what had caught Louis’ attention and now he bent closer, scanning over the words on the offending piece of paper, hardly able to believe what he was reading.

_Madame Viola’s Circus!_ the poster screamed, _Coming to a town near you! Get your tickets now!_

Underneath the bright swirling font there was a list of dates the circus would be in town. Louis straightened up, shaking his head disbelievingly. He read over the poster again and then pulled out his phone from his pocket, grinning madly to himself. He continued walking along the street, all too aware of how late he would be if he paused any longer. As he did, his fingers tapped over the screen of his phone.

_You twat_ , he wrote. _Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?_

Moments later, his phone buzzed in his hand. Louis’stomach flipped, ad he couldn’t help his grin when he swiped his thumb to unlock his phone and saw the message Harry had typed back.

_...Surprise? xx_

An alarm appeared on the screen, telling him his shift had started, and Louis swore under his breath and pocketed his phone as he jogged through the sliding doors of the supermarket. He looked over the aisles as he made his way to the staffroom, taking in the hum of the place. They were busy today, unusually for a Tuesday afternoon. Harried mothers raced around with screaming children tangled around their legs, keen to get what they needed and leave as quickly as possible. Teenagers, clearly underage, hung around the alcohol aisles, looking shiftily this way and that. Louis shook his head at them, stabbing a code into the panel by the door to the staffroom. He hung up his jacket, signed himself in and then headed down to the store room and pulled out a wire cage of food that needed restocking.

Halfway into his shift he could bear it no longer. He ducked back into the staffroom and pulled his phone out, hitting his first speed dial.

"Are you really coming back?" Louis asked into the phone as soon as it connected. A low chuckle answered him, and Louis felt that familiar swooping in his stomach at just the sound his voice.

"Hello," Harry answered, and Louis closed his eyes with a smile. "Yep, really really. I wanted it to be a surprise, though."

"Hm," Louis huffed as he moved further into the staff room and pressed the phone closer to his ear. "That didn’t really work, I’m afraid, since I walked past a poster advertising the circus _on my way to work_."

"Damn," Harry muttered, "Didn’t think that through."

"Nice try, though," Louis offered. He heard movement from the corridor outside and peered around to glance at the door warily. "So when are you getting here?"

"Oh no," Harry said playfully. Louis rolled his eyes. "Not telling. I can keep that a surprise. Soon, though."

"Good," Louis lowered his voice, pushing himself further behind the coat rack he’d hidden himself behind. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, love. Not long now. Niall’s dying to get back and see you. Say’s Donny’s the best city we’ve ever performed for."

"Well he’s right, of course. Tell the little fleabag I can’t wait for him to get here either. Or the others."

"Will do. Oops, gotta go, rehearsals are starting again."

"Right," Louis sighed. "Be safe."

"Always. Love you."

"Love you." Louis hung up and tucked his phone back into his trouser pocket. Before anyone could come in and catch him skiving, he hurried out of the staff room and down the back stairs to the shop floor.

Melding seamlessly back into the noise and bustle of the people weaving in and out of the aisles, Louis hid himself away and began tidying a shelf of canned soup. He couldn’t help himself; anticipation was bubbling away at his stomach, making him giddy with excitement and just a touch of nerves. It had been so long, far too long, without Harry. It wasn’t as if he was lonely, no; he had his friends and his family and his job to keep him busy...but Harry...he just couldn’t enjoy any of it properly without Harry (he wasn’t saying he hated his job, but his life had been reduced to restocking tomatoes and directing little old ladies to tinned prunes. Oh joy, oh excitement). Part of him was missing. A lanky, dark haired something.

They had gotten less time to spend with each other over the winter as Louis would have liked, cut short by Harry and the boys having to leave to choreograph and practise routines for the coming season. Harry hadn’t told him when they’d be coming back, and for a few days Louis had been certain that that was it- Harry not telling him had been his own way of breaking up with him, finally tired of being tied down. Now, though, he understood.

He moved from the tins of soup into the next aisle and began restocking the salad dressings. His hands moved automatically, turning all the bottles so their labels faced the front, righting a few that had fallen over at the back of the shelf. He must have looked ridiculous, bent down tidying bottles of low fat dressing with an enormous grin on his face. 

He didn’t care. His Harry was coming home.

 

********  
  


_Last Christmas_

"We’re going ice skating!" Niall announced, emerging from his room with a pair of gloves and a scarf in his hands.

Harry removed his face from Louis’ neck and frowned. "What?"

"Ice skating!" Niall said again. "A rink’s been set up in the city centre, so I heard. That right Lou?" he asked as he threw the scarf at Zayn.

"Uh huh," Louis replied, sneaking an arm around Harry’s waist. "It’s there every year. S’been years since I went."

"I love ice skating," Liam piped up excitedly from the kitchenette, pausing in stirring his tea. "I used to go all the time when I was a kid."

"That settles it, then." Niall pulled on the gloves and clapped his hands together, the material making a hollow thud as he did. "Let’s go."

"You go," Harry said, settling into Louis’ side and nuzzling his nose back into Louis’ neck. "Me and Lou will stay here."

"What, so you can fuck while we’re not here? Nope, it’s family time." Zayn said, lifting himself gracefully off the sofa and heading to his room.

"It might be nice." Louis hummed into the top of Harry’s head, hair tickling his nose. "Fun, even."

Harry grumbled a little but disentangled the both of them all the same. "Fine," he huffed, "You romantic sap."

"Who, me?" Louis asked innocently, letting Harry tug him to his feet and lead him to his room.

Ten minutes later they were all walking towards town, Niall and Liam bounding along like they were eight years old again. Zayn hung back with Harry and Louis, who was wrapped up in so many layers he was almost too warm, even though it was freezing outside (only when Harry had suggested he put three jumpers on had Louis put his foot down). They walked together, Harry’s arm slung over Louis’ shoulder.

Since the boys had come back Louis had been spending most of his time in their caravan with them, so much so that he kept some of his clothes in Harry’s cupboards, a pair of shoes by the door. They’d melded together seamlessly when Harry had returned in September, and now, nearing Christmas, they were inseparable. One half never went anywhere without the other. They’d both wanted to do it properly, take it slowly, but there was nothing to take slow. They just...worked.

The evening was a cold one, their breaths puffing out of their mouths in a cloud of smoke with every exhale. The yellow lamplight guided their way through the streets, towards the buzz of the town centre. There was a tree right in the centre of the square, high and proud, with hundreds of twinkling white lights wrapped around it. Around there were stalls selling hot drinks and food, filling the cold air with mouthwatering smells. Christmas music played lightly from speakers set up around the square. In the centre of it all was the ice rink, a wide circle of ice that reflected the lights of the tree. There were quite a few people on it already, some skating around smoothly like they’d done it for years, and others who clung to the side and tried walking their way round, looking like a small herd of Bambi’s.

"I’m going to suck at this," Louis protested, voice muffled by his scarf.

"We’ll hold your hand, Lou." Niall said cheerfully, heading over to the queue and digging around in his pocket for money.

With only minimal protesting, Louis allowed Harry to pay his entry fee and stuff his socked feet into a pair of skates. Now he remembered why he hadn’t done this in a long time. Why anyone did this for any sort of enjoyment was beyond Louis. What on earth was fun about sliding along frozen water balancing on stupidly thin blades of metal? It asked for disaster; one wrong foot and you’d break an ankle or lose your fingers. Of course, to Louis’ complete dismay, the other four stepped smartly onto the ice and began skating in circles, getting used to the ice under them without so much as a wobble. He stared, mouth hanging open.

"Hey!" he called indignantly from just off the rink. "What the fuck?"

Liam sailed past, spinning a full turn on one blade and grinning at Louis. Harry glided over to him and held out a hand, a slight smirk pulling at the corners of his own mouth.

"We’re in a circus, Lou, remember?" he said. "Balance is kind of what we do." He beckoned slightly with his hand. "Come on. We won’t let you fall."

"Do you know what, I think I’m gonna go get a tea or something." Louis half turned away, then caught sight of the look Harry was giving him, all doe eyes and little pout. Christ. "Oh my god. Fine."

Gingerly he put one foot on the ice, reaching for Harry’s hand. He laced their fingers together, reaching his other arm to wrap it around Louis’ waist and guide his other foot onto the rink.

"If you let me go, I swear," Louis threatened. "No blowjobs for a month."

"Would I do that to you?" Harry asked sweetly, eyes twinkling. "Now put one foot in front of you, bend your knee...that’s it...."

Gradually, Louis got the hang of it. Well, he could move his feet and propel himself forward with only a little teetering to either side. He felt marginally better feeling Harry’s grip on him, strong and safe, skating along beside him and supporting his weight. Once he was sure he was going to remain upright he looked up from his feet, taking in the atmosphere. It was quite romantic after all, he thought. The delighted sounds of people around him, the happy buzz of the atmosphere as he skated slowly along with Harry in the glow of the tree. The music changed to another song Louis didn’t recognize, something about the night changing, and Louis grinned up when Harry smiled down at him.

‘Okay?’ Harry asked, and Louis tugged on his coat, wordlessly bringing them to a halt. Harry leaned down, touching his cold nose to Louis’ and pressed the softest of kisses to his mouth. Their breath clouded around them in the cold air. Louis could feel the tip of Harry’s nose icy on his skin, his smooth skin on Louis’ stubble.

A shout to their left alerted them to Niall’s presence, who appeared to be in a race with Zayn and Liam from one end of the rink to the other. The two of them watched as Liam tripped on a dent in the ice and took the other two down with him, sliding part way along the rink in a heap of scarves and skates. Niall’s cries of alarm reached their ears and Harry snorted.

"Alright there, Nialler?" he called, and got a laugh verging on the hysterical as an answer.

Harry shook his head, and turned his attention back to Louis. "Wanna go and get a drink or something while they pick themselves up?" he asked, lacing their fingers and leading them towards the edge of the rink. "I can’t feel my toes anymore."

Once they’d handed back their skates they wandered around the little market together. Louis admired all the trinkets he could get for his family, and some even for himself. There was a stall selling fudge, and Louis almost emptied his wallet buying a piece of every different flavour to take home for his sisters. Harry tried numerous times to buy him something, but Louis found he didn’t want anything. The thought crossed his mind that all he wanted was Harry, and he almost slapped himself for being so completely pathetic.

When the other boys rejoined them they headed for the stall selling hot drinks. Louis bought Harry’s hot chocolate for him, and they made their way home, cradling drinks in their hands and trying to get some feeling back into their fingers. For somewhere that looked like it had fairly thin walls, the caravan stayed surprisingly warm, and once they’d divested themselves of their outerwear Louis cosied himself up into Harry’s side on the sofa. He listened to the low noise of the boys talking over his head, punctuated by the odd laugh, and let himself unwind, lulled by the beat of Harry’s heart under his ear.

One by one the boys headed off to bed, and once they were alone Harry nudged him upright, pressing a slow kiss to his mouth that was gentle and a little needy. He pressed his hands to Louis’ cheeks and lay him down on the sofa, covering him with his body and teasing a mark into Louis’ neck with his teeth. Heat pooled into Louis’ stomach, and he lifted his hips and clutched at Harry’s elbows, trying to draw him closer.

"Bedroom?" Louis gasped.

He felt Harry smile into his neck. "After you."  
  


**********

  
A week after that Harry had left him.

Louis paused rearranging the ketchup bottles, remembering momentarily how Harry had told him they had to leave early, before Christmas. It had been far too soon for Louis' liking. Their last night there had been all too reminiscent of the first time Harry had had to leave him. It hadn’t been any easier, any less desperate than the first time round. Harry made sure he stayed the night, though, virtually threatening to have the boys barricade the door so Louis couldn’t go until the morning. No convincing was needed, though; Louis never wanted to leave Harry in bed like he’d done before again. He stayed, and in the morning he stood in the field and waved until he could no longer see them driving away. Harry’d promised him that they’d be back, though he hadn’t specified when. If only Louis had known he’d been planning to ‘surprise’ him, it would have saved him days of thinking Harry wasn’t coming back at all.

"Louis?"

Louis jerked around, startled.

"Oh," he said, heart racing. ‘Jeremy, hi.’

His colleague stood before him, half a smile on his face. "Sorry, was I interrupting you?"

"No, course not," Louis waved a hand at the shelves behind him. "Was in my own little world. How can I help?"

Jeremy was totally unsubtle about his crush on Louis. At work he was only ever a couple of aisles away, and whenever he needed a question answered or somebody to help him he was guaranteed to ask Louis. He was sweet, the same age as Louis though they’d gone to different colleges. With his dark brown hair and blue eyes he was good looking, and it was clear he hoped he was Louis type. Too bad Louis preferred green eyes. He smirked to himself.

"Oh, it’s just...I could do with some help in the stock room?"

"Yeah, no problem." Louis nodded and smiled in what he hoped was a friendly way. "Lead the way."

They walked to the stockroom side by side, and Louis kept seeing Jeremy look at him out of the corner of his eye. Together they pinpointed the boxes that needed unloading and began stacking them on to another of the wire metal cages.

Jeremy still kept glancing at him. A couple of times Louis saw him open his mouth to say something, only to shut it again and hand Louis another cardboard box. Louis really hoped he wasn’t about to do what he thought he was. He liked Jeremy, he really did. He seemed like a nice guy, and Louis didn’t want to put their friendship in any danger by pushing it to somewhere it couldn’t go. They still had to work shifts together, and he didn’t want to make it awkward. _Don’t do it_ , Louis tried to tell him telepathically, _don’t do it_.

"Uh, Louis?"

Shit. Louis straightened up, turning to Jeremy with a smile. "Yeah?"

"Would you, uh..." Jeremy shifted from one foot to the other, rubbing the back of his neck. "Would you like to go out with me sometime?"

Louis kept smiling benignly, "Sure. As friends, right?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I guess..."

‘Then yeah, cool.’ Louis bounced on the balls of his feet, and then reached for another box. "Do you have anywhere in mind?"

"Well I saw this advert for a circus that’s coming to the city soon, I thought maybe we could get tickets and go."

At that Louis couldn’t help the giant grin that spread across his face, the warm feeling in his belly at the thought of Harry. He couldn’t wait.

"That sounds good, yeah." Louis said. "We could get a group of us together and go."

"Oh. Uh, actually I thought it could maybe be just you and-"

"I actually know a couple of people in the circus," Louis blurted out, stopping him from finishing that sentence. "I could probably get us a discount."

Jeremy’s eyes bugged out his head. "Seriously? You know people actually in the circus?"

"Yeah," Louis tried to shrug nonchalantly, attempting to conceal the enormous pride in his chest, "I know the trapeze group. They’re cool guys. And girls." He added as an afterthought, though he hadn’t seen Sarah or Alice since their last performance at the end of last season. He missed Alice a little, but he hadn’t given much thought to Sarah, not after the damage she’d done to he and Harry last time.

"That’s so cool! Do you think I could meet them?"

Louis hesitated a moment, then nodded. "I don’t see why not. You’re my friend, after all."

At that Jeremy’s face fell a little, but Louis pretended not to notice. "Come on," he said, "Let’s go and get this lot out there."

  
**********

  
Two weeks later, Louis was let out of work early. He walked home though puddles, sloshing through yet another April shower. He’d been looking forward to getting home all day; the possibility of getting back into bed with a cup of tea and giving Harry a call making him walk faster through the rain.

He passed a bus shelter, almost pulling a muscle in his neck doing a double take when he saw Harry’s face smiling back at him. He blinked at it, looking over all of the boys’ faces grinning out at him from the poster plastered on the side of the shelter. It was a full size version of the yellow poster that was stuck on all the lampposts advertising the circus. The boys all posed in the middle of the poster, grinning manically out at him. Louis stopped, taking out his phone and snapping a picture of the poster. Hey, he couldn’t see Harry in the flesh; this was the next best thing. Everyone was there: Angelo, the clowns, Bertie the ringmaster, all staring back at him. An ache to see them all again clenched at his chest; he’d missed them while they’d been away. It had been just about three months since he’d seen them all, and to Louis it had dragged past like several lifetimes.

He arrived home and let himself in, discarding his wet things and calling a hello to his mum in the kitchen. His damp socks squelched up the stairs and he took them off halfway, throwing them in the laundry basket on the way to his room. The shriek he let out when he swung open his bedroom door, only to find someone _already in there_ , was not a very manly one. He clutched at his chest and jumped a couple of steps backwards, heart in his mouth.

"What the fuck?!" he cried. "I almost had a fucking heart attack!"

Harry laughed from where he sat cross legged on Louis’ bed, standing and opening his arms. "Hello to you, too."

Shock had Louis frozen for a moment, and then his legs gave way under him and he staggered forward into Harry’s arms. Harry wrapped him up, pulling him close and bending down to laugh quietly in Louis’ ear.

"Hey, baby," he murmured, and Louis shifted in his arms, pressing himself as close as possible with a whimper.

"Dickhead," he tried to scold, though his voice came out shaky and weird to his own ears. "Scared me half to death." Harry didn’t reply, only nuzzled his nose into the side of Louis’ neck.

They were quiet for a moment, letting themselves knit back with each other with every passing moment. Louis could feel the edges of himself, all jagged and broken, smoothing over, blunted by Harry’s touch on his skin.

"Fuck, I missed you," he said into Harry’s shirt.

He felt rather than saw Harry’s smile. "Surprise," he sang gently, lips tickling Louis’ neck. He pulled back, placing two fingers under Louis’ chin to tilt his head up and press their mouths together. Oh, it had been too long, far, far too long. For a moment they stood there, lost in the familiar feel of each other. Harry tasted of home and warmth and everything Louis had missed. He let Harry flick his tongue into his mouth gently but let it go no further, all too conscious of where they were. Only the floor beneath them separated the two of them from the rest of Louis’ family.

"How did you get in here?" he asked when they pulled apart, resting his forehead to Harry’s.

"Your mum let me in," Harry pressed another kiss to Louis’ cheek, "She saw the caravan pull up outside."

"Knew she’d be in on it somehow," Louis muttered.

Harry kissed him sweetly again. He slid his hands down to Louis’ waist, squeezing gently. "As much as I want to continue this, I’m not sure your mum needs to hear us," he grinned. "Later, though...."

Louis rolled his lips into his mouth, subtly looking Harry up and down. "Later." He promised. "...Are the boys all here too?"

"Uh-huh," Harry threaded his fingers through Louis’. "Come say hi."

  
**********

  
"Louis!" Liam cried as soon as they set foot through the door, hand in hand. He jumped off the sofa and enveloped Louis in his arms, squeezing tightly. "Long time no see!"

"Alright, mate?" Louis patted his back, one arm stuck awkwardly out to the side to keep hold of Harry’s hand. "Hi, Zayn."

"Hey, Lou," Zayn passed him coming through from the kitchen with a mug of tea in his hand. "Missed ya. Not as much as Harry did though, obviously. Niall’s out back doing....actually, I don't know what he’s doing."

The boy in question came barrelling through the door at that moment, bright eyed and pink cheeked. "Lou! Buddy!"

"Nialler!" Louis staggered back a couple of steps as Niall collided with him, hugging him tightly. Harry’s other hand settled on the small of his back, steadying him.

"Good to see ya," Niall stepped back, grinning. "Harry here’s been going mad without you, and let me tell you, I’m right next his bedroom and at night I can hear him-"

"Anyway!" Harry shoved Niall’s shoulder and steered Louis over to the sofa, leaving Niall cackling behind them. Louis flopped down and Harry melded himself to his side, an arm slung over his shoulders. Louis leaned into him, suddenly content now, calmed by his boy next to him, his friends around him talking away like they’d never been apart.

"Can’t wait for you to see the show, Louis," Liam was saying, "We worked really hard on it this year."

"Can’t wait either," Louis said honestly, "I’ve been looking forward to it for ages. Oh, that reminds me. My friend, this guy I know-"

"What guy?" Harry said sharply, pulling back to look Louis in the eye. 

Louis shook his head, patting Harry's chest, "Calm your tits, Styles. It’s this guy I know from work. We were talking the other day and he was saying how much he liked the circus." Louis elected not to tell them that Jeremy had actually asked Louis there on a date. "So I told him I knew you guys and he really wants to meet you...do you think I could bring him back after one of the shows and show him around?"

Louis could feel Harry wound up next to him, shoulders tense with an indignant air radiating off him. Louis squeezed his thigh and left his hand there, and Harry pulled him closer in under his arm.

"What’s this guy’s name?" he asked.

"Jeremy," Louis told him, and elbowed him in the side when Harry snorted. "Don’t take the piss. He’s nice."

"I ‘spose we could ask Viola. I don’t think she’d mind though." Zayn said.

‘Yeah, bring him along, Lou." Liam nodded. "If Viola has a problem with it she’ll let us know."

"Cheers boys," Louis looked at Harry next to him, brow furrowed. "Babe," he said, poking at his slightly stuck out bottom lip. "He’s a friend, that’s all. Don’t go all caveman on me."

The corner of Harry’s mouth lifted slightly. "That’s my job," he said quietly, stroking his fingers through Louis' hair. "I don’t mind him coming along at all. Just...as long as he keeps his hands to himself."

Louis ignored the retching sound Niall was making. "Don’t worry," he told him, tilting his head up to press a kiss to Harry’s lips, "I can take care of myself. Besides, he doesn’t think of me like that."

Which, okay, that might a been a white lie, but it calmed Harry down and made him smile again, and that was all Louis cared about.

  
**********

  
Opening night came around faster than Louis had anticipated. Dating a member of the crew had it’s perks; when Bertie strolled out into the spotlight in his colourful top hat and tails, Louis was in the middle of the front row watching him. The tent was packed, as it usually was on opening night, and Louis’ stomach was in knots. He fidgeted in his seat, left knee jiggling up and down, as if he was the one getting up there and performing for hundreds of people.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Bertie’s voice suddenly boomed around the tent. Louis jumped a little. "Welcome to Madame Viola’s circus show! The greatest show on earth!"

Louis applauded along with the audience. As Bertie continued, Louis saw movement in the darkness behind him. He knew the trapeze group were opening the show, and if he strained his eyes he could see Harry and the boys making their way up the ladders, taking the rungs two at a time and chalking their hands at the top. Although they moved silently the sequins of their costumes glittered a little in the glow from Bertie’s spotlight, alerting people to their presence.

"And so prepare yourselves, ladies, gentlemen and children," Bertie swept off his hat with a flourish, "To be amazed!"

Raucous applause followed him off into the darkness. The tent fell silent again, anticipation thick in the air. Louis gnawed on his thumbnail, eyes glued to the dark space where he thought Harry must be.

And then, like the first time Louis had ever set eyes on him, a single light lit Harry up, standing at the platform way above their heads. His body was angled towards the crowd, both arms spread out to the sides, palms out. All Louis’ breath left him in one go. Being front row, he could see Harry’s face; the wide smile and the shining eyes. As Louis watched him, his head turned down towards Louis and he winked. Louis hoped Harry could see the grin he returned.

One by one the others were lit up in spotlights, all in the same position as Harry. Simultaneously, the lights blacked out, and when they came on again they were flying. Louis had forgotten the sense of complete awe he felt whenever he watched Harry perform. His body was so lean, movements so calculated and graceful, never missing a beat when he was upside down with his knees hooked over the bar to catch his teammates. The costumes were a dark blue this year, and the material pulled taut over Harry’s muscles as they rippled with every move he made. Louis shifted in his seat, glancing around him to check no one was watching him virtually drool over one of the trapeze artists.

He swallowed thickly, looking back up to where Harry was righting himself and then dropping onto the net. He jumped off, landing on the floor gracefully and waiting for the others to join him before they all took a bow. Louis was on his feet, clapping at hard as he could. In quick succession they ran to the corner of the tent, waving. They disappeared through the artist’s entrance, and the introduction to the text act started.

Instead of sitting back down, Louis ducked down and managed to squeeze past the people sitting beside him. He scurried out of the entrance to the tent and around to the performers area. His heart pounded in his chest, blood rushed in his ears, but he couldn’t tell if that was over his fear of being caught or because of the sudden tightness in his trousers. No one stopped him, though they couldn’t have done if they tried, and Louis dodged his way around the jugglers warming up and to the back of the performers’ entrance.

The boys were there, still high fiving and telling each other how well the performance went. Louis skidded up to them, stopping where Zayn was clapping Harry on the back.

"Lou!" Harry said, gathering Louis into a hug. "How do you think it went? Pretty good, right?"

"Amazing," Louis breathed, taking in Harry’s flushed cheeks, still riding high on adrenaline. "That was so, so good, boys. Nice one."

"Thanks, mate." Liam put his hand on Louis’ shoulder. "You alright, though?"

"Uh huh. Yeah, um..." Louis shifted his weight from one foot to the other, hoping none of the boys would notice the bulge in the front of his jeans. "I just wanted to talk to Harry. If that’s okay, I mean."

Harry looked him up and down, eyes moving up his body until they fell on Louis teeth biting his bottom lip. "We can talk." He said.

The other three looked between them like they were watching a tennis match.

"Right, er. We’ll leave you to it then." Liam said, grabbing Zayn’s shoulders and steering him back towards the tent. "Remember we’ve still got to do our bows, Harry!" he called over his shoulder.

"Yeah, don’t be too long. Have a fun ‘talk’," Niall snickered. He hurried after the other two, and then they were alone.

Louis didn’t know what had come over him; all he knew was that Harry looked even better in his costume when Louis was up close. He all but launched himself at Harry, pushing him to the nearest steady surface. Harry was a lot stronger than him, but he let Louis press him against the nearest wall and bent his head down to claim Louis’ waiting mouth.

"Fuck, you looked so good out there," Louis said and Harry’s big hands came around to grip his waist, one sliding down to the small of his back possessively. "Was getting hard just watching you."

He felt Harry’s chest shake as he laughed, though he sounded pleased when he spoke. "Not sure all the parents with young kids would appreciate that if they knew."

"Can’t bloody help it. Not with you around." Louis took Harry’s hand off his waist and brought it round to press it to the front of his jeans. "Feel what you do to me."

Harry moaned in his throat, guttural and filthy. He moved his hand away, only to grip Louis’ hips and close the small gap between them, grinding their bodies together. Louis could feel Harry hardening against him, felt his own dick twitch in response to the friction.

"We haven’t got time," Harry told him through hot kisses down the side of his neck. "I have to be back out there in ten minutes."

"You can come in that time though, right?" Louis asked him, sliding a hand down his chest, past his waistband and giving his cock and gentle squeeze.

Harry’s breath stuttered a little, but he managed to shoot Louis a sly smile. "For you? Always."

Louis leaned up for one final kiss, and then slid to his knees, the sequins of Harry’s costume rough against his fingers as he ran his hands down Harry’s thighs. He rubbed his cheek on the hardness at the front of Harry’s trousers, listening to Harry’s soft groans above him. Fortunately, Harry’s costume was a two-piece, which made it a hell of a lot easier for Louis to get at his cock. Stroking the skin just above the waistband, Louis hooked his fingers under it and pulled down so the material rested midway down Harry’s thighs.

Harry’s fingers tangled through his hair, urging his head forwards, but Louis held back, taking his time. He licked his palm a couple of times, then took hold of the base of Harry’s dick, using his thumb to stroke the vein on the underside slowly. He waited until he had eye contact with Harry and then licked around the head, smiling as Harry’s hips twitched forward.

"Lou," Harry was mumbling, "Come on."

Louis took pity on him then, and slid him into his mouth properly. He paused momentarily to watch Harry’s eyes slip shut, oh so responsive as always, and then began moving his mouth and hand in tandem, hand moving up to meet his mouth whenever he took Harry deeper. His own cock ached now, boxers becoming damp with precome, Harry’s nonsensical babble enough to push him on. Harry’s hips twitched again, and Louis let him push into his mouth further, feeling him bump the back of his throat. Louis looked up at him, knowing he must look obscene, mouth stretched wide, cheeks flushed, hair all over the place from Harry’s fingers, but he knew Harry couldn’t get enough of him like this. He pulled back so Harry’s cock was at his lips and twirled his tongue around the head.

"Lou," Harry warned, "M’gonna..."

All it took was Louis flicking his tongue into Harry’s slit and stroking his balls and Harry came with a twitch and a soft cry. Louis took all of him, making sure Harry was watching when he swallowed and grinned. He let himself be pulled up, knees numb, to be kissed while Harry came down from his high, arms held loosely around Louis’ waist. Louis tucked Harry back into his costume, brushing a hand over his own rock hard cock. Harry noticed his wince and pulled him back in closer.

"Let me..." He said, moving his hand between them down to Louis’ jeans. He palmed him slowly, deliberately, though the material, and Louis was just on the edge enough that it only took Harry’s twisting his wrist just right to push Louis over the edge and he came, pulsing into his boxers.

"Fuck, I love you," Harry stated, biting down on Louis’ lower lip gently.

Louis huffed a laugh, but rested his head on Harry’s shoulder all the same, breathing in the scent of sweat and hairspray. ‘Love you more.’ He murmured. His heart felt like it was swelling to twice its size, his ribcage barely big enough to hold what he felt for this boy. They were both sweaty and sticky and Louis’ wet boxers were rapidly becoming uncomfortable, but there was something serene, something peaceful about standing wrapped up in each as their breathing slowed, even with all the noise from the crowd just meters from them.

A fanfare started, accompanied by cheers, and Harry looked towards the tent.

"That’s my cue," he said apologetically, stroking his fingers down Louis’ cheek. "Go back to ours, have a shower if you like. I’ll be there soon."

"’Kay," Louis said, tilting his chin up for one last kiss before Harry jogged away, straightening his costume and ducking back through the tent flap.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Louis."

Louis turned away from the boxes of cereal to find Jeremy lingering behind him. A strange prickling sensation tickled at the back of his neck when he thought of how long he could have been standing there just watching Louis work without his knowledge.

"Oh, hey. Do you need some help with something?" Louis asked, clutching a box of cornflakes protectively in front of himself. He didn’t particularly like the way Jeremy was looking at him, and he pretended he didn’t see his eyes drift down Louis’ body. Louis shifted uncomfortably, wondering how appropriate it would be to dive into the boxes he’d just stacked on the shelves so Jeremy couldn’t look at him like that any longer.

"Oh, no, not really. I just wanted to ask you if you managed to get any tickets to the circus. I looked up the dates online and they’ve already been here for a week. I just didn’t want you to forget, that’s all." His smile was saccharine sweet.

Louis had been avoiding Jeremy for the past few days, working in places he didn’t usually go, hiding out in the store room when he spotted Jeremy wandering around aimlessly like he was looking for him. He’d hoped Jeremy wouldn’t bring up going to the circus together again. Apparently there was no such luck there.

"Of course I haven’t forgotten!" Louis said cheerfully. "We could get a few people together and go tonight, if you like?" It was short notice, Louis knew; it was already late in the day and their shift didn’t finish for an hour yet. He still had to shower and change, so he wouldn’t see Harry properly until after the show. He’d have to call him instead, warn the boys that he was bringing someone. "I’ll go round, ask a few people and see if they’re up for it."

"I’ll do it." Jeremy said, too quickly. He cleared his throat. "I’ll put up a note in the staff room, tell people when to get there and all that."

An uneasy feeling settled into Louis’ stomach. "Right," he agreed. ‘Shall I meet you outside the tent?’

Jeremy nodded eagerly.

"Okay, then." Louis swallowed. "I’ll see you later."

Jeremy walked away, glancing obviously back over his shoulder at Louis, who was still stupidly holding the box of cereal. He’d unconsciously gripped it too tight in his hands so the corner was squashed, so he stacked at the back of the shelf and put some undamaged ones at the front to hide it.

Now he had to tell Harry that Jeremy was coming along. Louis’ phone was heavy in his pocket, reminding him of what he had to do with each bump it made to his thigh. The last hour of his shift dragged, the monotony of his work making it feel even longer. He felt pathetic in himself. He shouldn’t have let it get to even this stage. In neglecting to tell Jeremy he had a boyfriend he’d given him false hope, made him think that he had a chance with him. He and Harry made it no secret that they were together; Louis was pretty sure everyone in the circus knew. It was just...he didn’t want to make it awkward for Jeremy. Louis was a people-pleaser by nature, trying to keep everyone happy at the same time, and he and Jeremy still had to work together. Louis would just stay friendly, and if Jeremy didn’t back down, then he’d have to make him. Until then, though, Louis would just be subtle about it.

But when he walked into the staffroom to pick up his jacket to go home, and found there was no note anywhere in the room telling people about the circus, Louis couldn’t shake the worrying feeling that nagged at him.

  
**********

  
  
They arrived to the tent just on time. Of course it was only Jeremy there; Louis hadn’t expected anything else. He’d met Louis a few meters away from the tent and immediately bombarded him with excited chatter about the night ahead. He was dressed casually, pretending he’d put minimal effort into his outfit, but his carefully styled hair and the hint of aftershave gave him away. Louis had deliberately put the least amount of effort possible into his appearance, though. He knew Harry didn’t care what he looked like anyway. Infuriatingly, Jeremy didn’t seem to notice Louis sweatpants and ragged tee. Louis almost wished he hadn’t showered; maybe that would have put him off.

They walked straight through to the front row. The fact that he’d managed to get a free ticket to a sold out show was of endless amazement to Jeremy, and even when they’d sat down he wouldn’t stay still, pointing things out to Louis, thanking him over and over again for getting him in.

"Look at that," he wondered aloud, looking up at the trapeze. "I bet it’s terrifying up there."

"I’ve been up there," Louis told him, unable to keep the smugness out of his voice. "The guys taught me how to fly last year."

Jeremy’s eyes bugged. "Seriously? You mean you actually went up there?" He looked up at the swings again.

"Yup. I was taught by the best." Louis smiled to himself, thoughts immediately turning to Harry. He made a mental note to ask Harry to get him up there again sometime in the near future.

"Do you think I could have a go?"

"Oh, uh..." Louis stalled. "I’m not sure, I mean, I was really lucky that they let me go on there, I’m not sure I could ask them to do that..."

"Oh," Jeremy said, crestfallen. He side-eyed Louis thoughtfully. "Maybe if you told them I was your-"

Thankfully Louis didn’t get to hear the rest of that sentence; Jeremy’s voice was drowned out by the music that accompanied Bertie walking out onto the middle of the floor. On cue, the boys came running out, scaling the ladders and chalking up. Any other night Louis would be on the edge of his seat, intent on making out Harry’s form in the darkness. Now, though, all he could focus on was Jeremy’s aftershave next to him, pungent and overpowering, his body far too close for comfort, thigh pressed against Louis’.

When the spotlight lit Harry up Louis could barely look at him. Harry didn’t wink or smile in his direction. He beamed out at the rest of the crowd, but Louis got nothing. Louis swallowed, watching the other boys being lit up, each of them glancing his way for a millisecond before the lights cut out again. Harry’s voice had been warm and sweet on the phone earlier, up until Louis had told him he was bringing Jeremy. He’d tried to act like he was fine with it, but Louis knew his voice too well. Months and months of separation with only phone calls meant Louis knew every detail of Harry’s voice, every inflection that told him what he was feeling. Harry’s voice had become clipped, tight, even though he’d tried to hide it. The night had barely started, but Louis was already regretting accepting Jeremy’s offer. Nothing was worth making things hard between him and Harry.

Luckily, Jeremy was too enthralled by the show to pay much more attention to Louis, so he relaxed and watched the familiar movements of Harry’s body above them. As per usual, the performance was flawless, and Louis could breathe again when Harry dropped down onto the net. As they lined up for a bow, Louis felt Jeremy’s arm snake around his shoulders. Harry was waving to the crowd and didn’t see Louis stretch and subtly shake the offending arm off. Niall did, though, and he shot Louis a worried look as they ran past him and out of the tent.

He couldn’t escape this time; he was stuck there next to Jeremy for the rest of the show. He kept trying to touch Louis, an arm around his waist, a hand on his leg, arms brushing each other, fingers not-so-subtly touching Louis’ own. When the lights finally came up and the tent started clearing Louis couldn’t get out of the stalls fast enough. He lingered around the ladders at the back of the tent, making sure to stand in the light so he was visible. He felt stupid for being so nervous- he was a grown man for fuck’s sake- but he didn’t like being alone with Jeremy, not with the way he kept looking at Louis like he wanted to jump him.

The boys traipsed back into the tent when it had cleared. They were still in their costumes, probably for effect, Louis thought. Well, that or intimidation. With the way Harry lead the pack, striding over to Louis and hovering close to his shoulder, shoulders lowered out and down so he looked even broader than he actually was, Louis was guessing the latter. Harry’s eyes skimmed Louis from head to toe. Apparently satisfied, he turned to Jeremy, eyes turning sharp.

"Hello," he said, thrusting out a hand. "You must be Jeremy."

"Hi," Jeremy breathed, wide-eyed. He took Harry’s hand, shaking it vigorously, "Yes, yeah, I am. Great show, amazing, I mean-"

"Nice to meet you," Niall jumped in, making Harry draw his hand back. The same hand settled at the small of Louis’ back, and just like that, the reassuring weight melted away Louis’ nerves. He relaxed, pushing back ever so slightly against Harry’s hand, and shot him a grateful smile.

Jeremy was still babbling away about how amazing they all were, practically falling at Zayn’s feet as he begged to be allowed up to the bars. Louis saw Harry’s jaw twitch, barely concealed disgust etched into his features. Liam glanced over at the two of them, and whatever he saw was enough to have him clapping Jeremy on the shoulder, leading him away and chatting about showing him how everything worked. Once they were out of sight Louis burrowed himself into Harry’s chest, sequins rough on his cheek.

"Hi," he said, breathing out slowly while Harry’s hand rubbed his back soothingly.

"Everything okay with you?" Harry said, tilting Louis chin up to look him dead in the eye. "You’re a bit jumpy."

"M’fine." Louis tried for a smile.

"He hasn’t done anything, has he?" Harry asked, jerking his head in the direction the boys had taken Jeremy. "Niall said he was a bit...overly-friendly, with you." His eyes narrowed fractionally as he spoke.

"He was fine. Nothing I couldn’t handle."

"Louis, I said it was only okay he came along if he kept his hands off you-"

Louis took a step back out of Harry’s arms and frowned. The beginnings of irritation nagged at the back of his head. "So you’re giving me conditions, now? Rules? I need to have, what, your permission? Your _approval_? For who I have as friends?"

Harry’s own brow furrowed. He shook his head slowly. "Don’t put words in my mouth."

"Don’t tell me who I can and cannot be friends with." Louis retorted, fists clenching into balls at his sides. The rational part of his mind knew he was overreacting, but he couldn’t help it; he could feel all the worry, all the stress he’d been feeling all night coming to a head. "Harry, I don’t need you running in here like some sort of fucking hero-"

"Oh, so it’s wrong for me to care about my boyfriend? It’s wrong for me not wanting creeps like that hanging around you?"

"I can protect myself!" Louis snapped.

Harry opened his mouth to say something else, then apparently thought better of it and shut it again. Louis took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, consciously relaxing his fists.

"I’m sorry," he said quietly. "I don’t want to fight with you."

Harry only sighed, pulling Louis close to him again. Louis went willingly, wrapping his arms tight around Harry’s midriff.

"I’m sorry too," Harry murmured. "This isn’t about you protecting yourself. I know you can, I trust you. It’s _him_ I don’t trust. It would drive me fucking mad if I ever saw him touch you."

Louis released a breath at the quiet admission, soft and shaky. ‘He won’t do anything.’ He replied, trying to sound convincing but failing even to his own ears.

Harry was quiet for a moment. "Okay," he said, drawing the word out. "If you think so, then I believe you. Can you promise me something, though?"

Louis looked up at him. Harry dropped down to press a kiss to his mouth, sweet and apologetic.

"Don’t bring him here again."

Louis rolled his lips into his mouth. Harry was looking at him so earnestly that Louis couldn’t say no.

"Okay," he agreed. "I promise."  
  


  
**********

  
  
Louis rolled over, stretching his legs out down the bed and grimacing at the pull in the backs of his thighs. Harry had been rough with him last night, not overly so, but just enough to have Louis aching in all the right places in the nicest way possible. He turned his head to the left, looking over Harry’s peacefully sleeping form. The duvet was pulled up to his stomach, leaving his torso uncovered, and Louis could see the myriad of marks he’d left on his neck and chest, standing stark on Harry’s pale skin. Louis was willing to bet there would be more littered down his stomach, a bruise or two in the shape of Louis’ thumb print on his arms. If this was how Harry reacted when they had the slightest argument, then Louis needed to find more things to argue with him about. Make-up sex was the _best_.

Harry didn’t stir next to him, so Louis pulled himself from under the covers and picked his sweatpants up from the floor. He pulled the material up, watching as it hid the bruises on his hips and the giant purple lovebite Harry had sucked into the inside of his thigh. Louis prodded it curiously, breath hitching as it throbbed under his touch. He pulled his sweats the rest of the way up and grabbed his phone, heading for the kitchen.

The rest of the place was quiet, the rest of the boys either still asleep or out. They had hours left before they had to start getting ready for tonight’s show, and all Louis wanted to do was stay wrapped up in bed with Harry until then and watch films. He put the kettle on, firing a text off to his mum to let her know where he was as he waited for the water to boil. The kettle clicked off when it was done, but Louis made no move towards it. Instead he stayed still, looking at the texts he’d received an hour before he’d woken up.

 _Last night was fun_ , the first said, _Let’s do it again some time_.

 _Are you going to be at the circus again tonight?_ The second said, _I’ve got someone to cover my shift so I can come too!_

Louis bit his lip, trying in vain to ignore the horrible sinking feeling stomach. Fucking Jeremy.

 _I can definitely come tonight_ , the last message he’d got said, _I’ll see you there._

Harry didn’t need to know about that, Louis decided. If he didn’t reply to the texts, maybe Jeremy would think he was busy and decide not to come. Louis deleted all three messages off his phone in quick succession. He knew Harry would never go snooping in his phone without permission but Louis was taking no chances. All Jeremy seemed to do was cause problems. Louis put his phone on silent and left it on the kitchen counter. Finishing the tea, he took both back to the bedroom, coming through the door just as Harry was sitting up, blinking sleepily and letting out an almighty yawn.

"Thanks," he croaked when Louis handed him his mug. He leant in for a kiss when Louis was back in bed again, tender and close-lipped. "Good morning."

"Morning," Louis replied. He closed his eyes and rested his head on Harry’s shoulder, warm mug cradled between his hands. They sat in comfortable silence, sipping tea and listening to faint music coming from next door, signalling Niall was awake.

Eventually they clambered out of bed, heading down the hall to the bathroom to cram themselves into the tiny shower. Louis had a love/hate relationship with the shower; he either got it right first time, or spent his time jumping in and out of the spray that was freezing cold one second and scalding hot the next. Harry seemed to have the knack for it though, turning the dial just right on his first attempt. A twinge of heat flared in Louis’ stomach as he rinsed Harry’s hair out, watching the bubbles slide down his body, over the dark purple bruises he’d left on Harry’s skin, from his collarbones to his hips. He pressed a kiss to the underside of Harry’s jaw, exhaling slowly when Harry’s hands came down to rest at the small of his back, fingertips resting just at the top of the swell of his bum.

Jeremy’s texts weighed heavy at the back of Louis’ mind, even as Harry’s hands ran over his skin, washing away the soap and shampoo. He didn’t want to bring him up again, worried of starting another argument over nothing or do anything to distract Harry from his performance tonight. The sense of unease was still there though, nagging at him. Harry’s thumb came up to press at the crease that had formed between Louis’ eyebrows, smoothing it out and then running his fingers through his wet hair, pushing it back from his forehead.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Fine," Louis replied, hoping he sounded reassuring. He smiled, and Harry’s answering smile turned mischievous, fingers inching down to slip between Louis’ cheeks, finger stroking over his hole. Louis arched into him, pushing their hips together, and Harry’s head tipped back a little as he let out a groan.

A hammering at the door had them jumping apart as if they’d been burned. Harry smacked his head on the shower door behind them and nearly lost his footing, and Louis’s hands shot out to steady him before he could hit the floor.

"Oi!" Niall’s voice hollered from the other side of the door. "No fucking in the bathroom! Other people have to use it too, you know!"

"Yeah, like this shower has never seen _you_ wank in here before!" Harry yelled back, but he released his death grip on Louis’ forearms to shut off the water all the same. "Fine, let’s go," he grumbled.

When the time came for the boys to go off to warm up, Louis was left on the sofa in front of the TV with more tea that Harry had made for him. He had half an hour before he needed to take his place in the front row, so he was going to finish watching the cooking show that was currently on and then wander over. He took a sip of his tea and then reached for his phone to turn it on. It buzzed a couple of times, and Louis scrolled through his notifications, flicking past the link to a Youtube video that Niall had sent him ages ago, and scanned a message from his mum asking him when he would be home. He messaged her back, and as he went to set his phone back down it buzzed again in his palm.

 _I’m here!_ Louis read, almost able to hear Jeremy’s voice in his text, _Where are you? xxx_

Louis just rolled his eyes and dropped his phone on the sofa next to him in favour of picking his tea back up. He concentrated on his show, steadfastly ignoring his phone when it buzzed repeatedly with an incoming call. He’d just sneak in through the performers’ entrance and find a different place to sit to avoid Jeremy, he decided. He wasn’t being a coward, no, he was just avoiding someone who, admittedly, made him uncomfortable. That was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?

Louis gulped down the rest of his tea and stood, flicking off the television and slipping his shoes on. He pocketed his phone and shut the door behind him, beginning to make his way towards the tent. It was ten minutes until show, and Louis could already hear the hum of the crowd, excited chatter heard even over the background music. The performers’ camp was slightly eerie with no one in it, the comparative quiet and the large, looming shadows made Louis increase his pace a little, weaving in and out of the tents and caravans closer to the tent. He was meters from the performers’ entrance when a figure suddenly emerged from the shadows, stepping right into Louis’ path.

"Hi, Lou!" Jeremy said excitedly, "I thought you might be back here, I mean, ‘cos you know the guys, I thought I’d come find you, I’m so excited for the show, I can’t wait to see it again."

"Er, hey," Louis said blandly, eyeing the short distance to the entrance of the tent longingly, "I didn’t know they let you back here-"

"Oh, they didn’t," Jeremy said cheerfully, "I just found my way. Shall we go in? We’ve only got a few minutes."

"Yeah, great."

Together they walked around the tent to the main entrance, were nodded past by security, and took their places front row. Jeremy sat as he had done the night before, pressed close to Louis’ side, thighs touching, shoes bumping. Louis cleared his throat, shifting away a couple of inches. Moments later, Jeremy followed, and Louis sighed heavily. Jeremy eyed him a few times, but didn’t say anything, and minutes later the lights went down and Bertie strode out onto the floor.

That horrible uneasiness was back again, cold worry dripping down Louis’ spine. Heavy guilt settled in his stomach when he saw Harry glance his way and do a double take when he saw who was sat next to him. He was so busy looking down at them he almost missed his cue, taking off right at the last second. Louis could feel all of the boy’s eyes on him, their heavy judgemental gazes pressing down on the top of his head even as they executed their routine as flawlessly as ever. He squirmed in his seat, feeling stifled, suffocated, burning up from the feel of an unfamiliar body, a body not belonging to Harry, pressed up against him. He rubbed his sweaty palms on the front of his jeans and exhaled a trembling breath, ordering himself to get it together.

When the show came to an end, Louis’ jaw was set, teeth clenched together. They waited for the tent to clear, and then, as always, Louis went to wait by the ladders for Harry, Jeremy still in tow. Once the tent was clear Louis stood in front of Jeremy and folded his arms across his chest.

"Look, Jeremy," he started, ‘"There’s something I haven’t told you, and it’s something you ought to know."

Jeremy stepped closer to Louis. He was looking at him oddly, almost softly. He reached over and gently uncrossed Louis’ hands, encasing them in his own.

"Er, okay," Louis made no pretence about pulling his hands away from Jeremy’s clammy touch, taking a sharp step back. When the other boy made to follow again, Louis put a hand out.

"Mate, stop it. I’m with-"

"Louis," Jeremy interrupted, grabbing Louis’ hand again. Louis recoiled, fingers limp, but Jeremy hung on, looking at him imploringly.

"I really like you," he breathed, "Honestly, I do. I- I think about you all the time, after last night I needed to see you again-"

Louis was beginning to realise the fact that the tent was empty was rapidly becoming a bad thing. He glanced at the back of the tent, willing someone, anyone to come in. The lights were dim, and without him noticing Jeremy had backed him towards one of the larger shadows at the side of the tent. Further still he urged Louis backwards, clinging to his hand and babbling on.

"-liked you for years, I matched my rota with yours at work so I could see you. I’ve been wanting to ask you out forever-"

"Enough!" Louis said over the top of him. He ran shaky fingers through his hair. "Jesus fucking Christ."

He was all too aware that they were in the shadows now, hidden to anyone that took a quick glance around the tent. He tried to shake his hand free but Jeremy had a firm grip on him, not allowing him any free movement all the while his hand was trapped. The mild caution Louis had felt before was rapidly turning into a cold panic. He tried yanking his hand back, but only succeeded in pulling the other boy closer to him. Taller than Louis, Jeremy leered over him, getting closer and closer until Louis could feel hot breath on his face.

"I’m with someone!" Louis blurted out. "I’m with Harry!"

He’d said it too loudly for Jeremy not to have heard him, but it was like Louis had said nothing at all. Jeremy lifted his free hand to run a finger down the side of Louis’ face.

"You’re so gorgeous."

"Jeremy," Louis said through a dry throat. "Fuck off. I mean it."

"Shh," Jeremy bent his head. "I know you want me."

Then dry lips were pushed on to Louis’. The fingertips of Jeremy’s free hand gripped the top of Louis’ arm hard, keeping him in place. A loud ringing had filled Louis’ head, all his instincts screaming at him. It was like he had turned to stone under Jeremy’s touch, mind helplessly frozen. An arm snaked around his shoulders, crushing him roughly against a hard chest and Louis stumbled, arm jerking to shove at Jeremy. Teeth scraped across his bottom lip, biting at it hard, and Louis couldn’t help the whimper of pain that escaped him. From outside there were voices approaching, voices Louis knew he recognised. Someone said something, and the answering laugh was one Louis would know anywhere, awake or asleep.

As Harry’s laugh got closer, Louis ripped himself away from Jeremy, staggering backwards and wiping his mouth on his sleeve. The material on his arm came away smeared red. Louis’ stomach rolled, a sour taste forming in the back of his throat.

"You fucking bastard," he hissed, shoving at Jeremy’s shoulder so hard he stumbled backwards. "What fucking right do you _have_ -"

"Louis?"

Louis whirled around, chest heaving, to find all four boys standing there looking between them. Their expressions ranged from dislike to suspicion to anger, and Louis knew the situation looked as bad as it was.

"What’s going on?" Zayn asked, stepping over to flank Harry’s left side.

"It’s nothing, we-" Jeremy started, but Harry cut him off like he wasn’t even there.

"What happened to your lip, Lou?" he asked, moving over to hover in front of Louis, effectively blocking him from Jeremy. Even as his hands shook with fury, Louis couldn’t help the relief he felt at having back up in the form of his four boys. He looked up slightly to meet Harry’s worried eyes.

He saw the cogs working inside Harry’s head as he looked from Louis’ damaged lip to the curled fists at his sides. His eyes turned dark. "What did he do to you? Did he hit you?"

Louis snorted and curled his lip. "The fucker kissed me."

Silence hung over them like a sheet of glass, poised, ready to fall and shatter into a thousand pieces as soon as the boys processed what Louis had just said.

"He did what?" Harry asked, grinding the words out through gritted teeth. Storm clouds brewed behind his eyes. He pulled himself to his full height as he turned to face Jeremy, who was taking slow steps backwards. The others shifted, looking like they were ready to spring into action at any second.

"Harry," Zayn warned.

Gone was the happy, clumsy, cuddly Harry Louis knew so well. In his place was someone Louis barely recognised, a mass of energy, virtually vibrating with anger. The tension in the tent had risen to almost unbearable levels, weighing heavy on their shoulders.

"Listen, mate," Jeremy was saying, palms held up and facing Harry, "I didn’t know you were together-"

"He’s not your mate," Liam put in, as Louis spoke up over Harry’s shoulder.

"I told you I had a boyfriend. You didn’t listen."

"So you knew he was with me." Harry stated, the words short and clipped. "And, what, you decided that didn’t matter?"

"I thought he was just playing hard to get!"

"There are so many things wrong with that I don’t even know where to begin." Niall stated from beside Liam.

"Listen to me," Harry commanded, tone turning soft, dangerous, eyes fixed on Jeremy, "I don't know what game you're playing, but if you want him, you’ll have to go through me to get him."

"Harry," Louis protested, moving around his side to face him, "Stop it."

"I mean it."

"Enough," Louis told him sternly. Harry’s gaze flicked down to him in surprise. "It’s not worth it. _He’s_ not worth it." He turned to Jeremy, who was still taking slow steps back. "I think it’s high time you fucked off, _mate_." He spat.

"Don’t bother coming here again." Liam added.

Jeremy took the opportunity given, turning on his heel and hurrying away, tail between his legs. As soon as he was out of the tent the air between them lifted, a weight had left their shoulders. The boys swarmed Louis, patting different parts of him, squinting to examine his lip.

"Are you alright, Lou?"

"‘Course he’s not alright, Liam, his lip’s busted."

"Absolute scumbag."

Although Louis was grateful for their attentions, the feel of more hands on him put him even more on edge. He slipped from their grasps, moulding himself into Harry’s side. The arm that slid around his shoulders and pulled him in was a grounding weight, the security allowing Louis’ head to clear a little.

"Thanks, lads," he said sincerely, "I’m alright now."

"No problem at all, Lou," Niall clapped Harry on the shoulder, looking between them with something close to apprehension in his features. "Look, we’ll go down the pub or something, you two go home."

"Yeah," Zayn agreed, pulling Louis into a one armed hug, difficult where Harry was almost clutching Louis to him. "Call us if you need anything."

The silence between the two of them when the others had gone was a stony one, contradicting Harry’s warm arm still secure around him. By wordless agreement they left the tent, making their way back through camp to the caravan. It was only when the door was firmly shut behind them that Harry released Louis, turning to stand in front of him.

"I don’t want to fight with you," Louis pleaded, "I didn’t want him to do that, I swear-"

Harry cut him off, ducking his head and pressing his mouth to Louis’ in a hard kiss. Louis’ lip burned and stung, but in a strange way he welcomed the pain, like it was removing any traces of the kiss that been forced on him. Louis angled his head a little to the left, parting his lips and coaxing Harry’s tongue into his mouth. Harry let out a little huff of need, hands coming down to rest at the dip of Louis’ waist. Louis stepped backwards, forcing Harry to follow him to avoid breaking the kiss, and began walking them down the hall to Harry’s bedroom.

The thought flashed across the back of his mind that they should probably talk about what had happened, but when Harry’s fingers began fiddling with the button at the front of Louis’ jeans that thought promptly flew out the window. Instead he slipped his fingers up the back of Harry’s shirt, fingertips skating over hot skin, breaking their kiss to bury his lips in the skin of Harry’s neck, nipping and licking until he’d marked Harry up. He pulled back to admire his handiwork, smirking at the way Harry’s pupils had blown out, red lips parted as he breathed heavily. Already he was hard, aching for Harry, and Harry in turn looked like he wanted nothing more than to spread Louis out and make him forget any other men existed, taking him to pieces bit by bit until he was a shaking mess. Louis shivered to himself, unable to think of anything he wanted more.

"Fucking _hell,_ Lou," Harry’s voice came out strangled. "You’re going to be the death of me."

He tumbled them both down on the bed, manhandling an already pliant Louis so Harry was cradled between his bent knees. He began kissing his way down Louis’ chest, holding his hips in his big hands as he went lower, pressing a light kiss to Louis’ dick before bypassing it and going lower still.

"Christ-" Louis choked, throwing an arm over his eyes when he felt Harry’s hot breath tickling his skin. Harry’s tongue was hot on him, licking, exploring a place he already knew so well. His fingers dug into the flesh of Louis’ thighs, no doubt hard enough to leave little red marks in the shape of his fingertips. When Harry’s finger teased over his hole, Louis scrabbled at his forearms. Harry got the hint, lying back on top Louis, dipping his tongue into Louis’ mouth.

"Gonna make this so good for you," He murmured in a voice that made Louis squirm in the sheets, heat spreading through his body like wildfire.

He opened Louis up torturously slow, twisting his wrist and curling his fingers just right so that Louis’ thighs were trembling before he was even inside him. Through his hazy mind Louis felt a rush of something strange at the fact that Harry knew his body so well he knew when to go faster, when to go slower, deeper. He knew when Louis was ready enough for him.

He was gone for long enough to get a condom, and then a blunt pressure pushed at Louis, one that Louis breathed out with and tilited his hips to get Harry to slide deeper until he was all the way in. Harry leaned down over him, hands either side of Louis’ head. He rolled his hips, setting an easy, slow pace. Louis gripped his waist, tilting his mouth up, which Harry readily kissed, burying his hands in Louis’ hair.

Gradually the pace of his thrusts picked up, their breathing increased between them. Harry’s lips hovered over Louis’, not quite touching, just held there, frustratingly out of reach.

"Harry," Louis muttered, and Harry read him like a book, knowing instinctively what he needed. He hitched Louis’ legs further up his waist and set a quicker pace, hips pushing harder and harder. Louis’ back arched up and his head went back, exposing his neck, sharp breaths leaving his mouth. Harry’s body answered, bending down over Louis, lips latching onto the skin beside his Adam’s apple, breathing harsh and loud in Louis’ ear. A flash of pain accompanied Harry’s teeth on Louis’ skin, eliciting a cry from Louis’. Harry kissed him softly in apology, a contrast to the pace of his unrelenting thrusts as he pushed Louis closer and closer to the edge.

"You know, ah _fuck_ , you know I’m yours, right?" Louis said breathlessly, "He...he means nothing."

Harry swooped on him, kisses tinged with a new urgency, like Louis’ words had been exactly what he needed to hear. His thrusts became frantic, and moments later Louis felt that familiar heat in the pit of his stomach. He came almost without warning, toes curling around Harry’s waist, heart hammering in his ears. A couple of erratic thrusts later and Harry went still, and then lowered himself gently on top of Louis. Their chests heaved together through their come down. Louis was vaguely aware of the trembling in his thighs, Harry's breathing in his ear gradually evening out. 

Harry pulled out gently, tying the condom off, and then curled into Louis’ side, arm thrown across his waist.

"Okay?" he asked quietly.

Louis swallowed and licked his lips, attempting to make his vocal chords work. "Great," he managed to croak.

They were quiet for a moment. Louis could tell Harry was itching to ask something, though, with the way he was fidgeting at his side, nails tapping the skin covering Louis' ribs.

"What’s up?" Louis nudged him.

"Nothing." Harry said quickly, but at Louis' pointed look he gave in. "Okay. Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not angry with you, I swear, but...I just...why was he there tonight? You said you wouldn’t bring him again...you promised."

Louis walked fingers down Harry’s arm. "You fuck me like there’s no tomorrow and then we talk about him straight afterwards?"

"I’m sorry, I’m just-"

"No, no," Louis interrupted, "You deserve to know... He just turned up. He texted me in the morning. I didn’t reply, but he didn’t take the hint and came anyway. I was planning to avoid him but he found me at the back entrance to the tent. I’m sorry, H, I handled it really badly. Should've just told him to go home."

"It’s okay," Harry said, reaching for Louis’ hand to lace their fingers together loosely. "That's the people-pleaser in you. I just wish you’d told me, I would have had one of the security guys look out for you, keep an eye on him."

"I’m sorry."

"It’s fine." Harry paused, then sniffed. "I could still ask them to go after him, you know, he won’t be far away. I could go with them...I won’t hit him that hard-"

"Harry."

  
  
**********

 

Louis had made a decision.

He was known for making rash, spontaneous decisions that he should probably have put more thought into before jumping in at the deep end, but with this particular decision, it had actually taken long consideration and numerous talks with his mum to come to a conclusion about.

Now he stood in his bedroom, bags by the door, with a soft smile on his face and a warm feeling in his belly. He had so much shit in his room that even after packing up everything he would need his bedroom still looked like somebody lived there. Ah well, at least that would comfort his mum all the time he was away. She had agreed with him, after all, that he needed time away, time away from certain people he worked with. He wasn’t running away, he'd reasoned, but all the time he’d spent working long shifts had meant he’d built up a nice sum in his bank account, so it was only right that he used it to travel.

Now, on the morning the circus was packing up and leaving, Louis was leaving with them.

He watched the tent being dismantled from his bedroom window, could see the boys’ caravan over the other side of the field being prepared for the journey. He watched the clock on the wall nervously, edging closer and closer to the time he had to leave. He wanted to surprise Harry, so the boys were keeping him occupied around the campsite until Louis had his bags inside the caravan. He only had one large suitcase, not sure of how much space he would have to work with. He’d buy stuff on the road, or share with Harry- half of the shirts he owned were Harry’s anyway.

His phone buzzed, an alarm telling him he had to leave. He lugged his case down the stairs, kissed his mum goodbye, tried not to well up at the tears in her eyes, her proclamations of ‘her little boy growing up’, and let himself out.

Numerous people gave Louis a wink on his way over the field. Bertie stood by his tent, smoking, and shot Louis a sly thumbs up.

"He’s on the other side of the tent. You’re safe." He called.

"Thanks, Bert," Louis grinned. He yanked his case after him, the wheels getting caught in the grass. Some of the performers’ tents were still up, offering Louis some sort of coverage even if Harry did suddenly reappear.

Louis heaved his case into the caravan, sticking it by the television. He collapsed onto the sofa, knee jiggling as he looked around. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to a text from Niall.

_You ready? H is on his way back x_

Louis released a shaky breath.

_I’m here x_

He stood, unsure of where to put himself. He sat on the stool by the door, then on the kitchen counter, then hovered awkwardly in the hallway to the bedrooms. Eventually he put himself next to his suitcase, fiddling with the zip on the top nervously.

Voices got closer, and Louis’ heart suddenly felt like it had relocated to somewhere near his voice box.

Liam laughed, sounding just as nervous as Louis felt, and then the door was flung open and Harry stepped inside. His gaze fell on Louis, probably looking like a deer in the headlights, and his brow furrowed.

"Lou?" he asked, confusion evident. "What are you..." he trailed off as he noticed the suitcase next to Louis. "Where are you going?"

Louis cleared his throat. "With you. If you’ll have me."

Harry was still for a moment, then a huge smile broke across his face and he leapt forward, pulling Louis into a crushing hug.

"You’re coming with us?!"

Louis nodded into Harry’s shoulder, and Harry pulled back, cupping Louis cheeks in large hands to press a kiss to his mouth. "But- how? I had no idea, I-" The answer came to him, and he turned, Louis in his arms, to face the others who were laughing quietly at the door. "Should have guessed. Twats." he said fondly.

"It was Louis’ idea," Zayn told him. "We just spoke to Viola."

"But...she never lets outsiders in," Harry said excitedly, then glanced at Louis, "No offense, Lou."

Liam shrugged. "Guess she sees something in you two."

Niall snorted. "She’s not the one who’s got to listen to them fucking every night from now on."

"I’ll buy you earplugs for your birthday." Harry dismissed, still looking at Louis fondly. The other boys moved to the kitchen area, and Louis pulled Harry aside, worrying his bottom lip.

"I did the right thing, right?" Louis asked quietly, "I know we talked about travelling, but I don’t think I can hang around here and wait for you to come back again," he admitted, "You won’t get sick of me?"

"You’re kidding, right?"

"And the boys?"

"They love you almost as much as I do." Harry’s eyes softened, "I can't believe it. You’re actually coming with me."

"Uh huh," Louis bounced onto his tiptoes to steal a kiss, "This is going to be good, isn’t it?"

"Babe," Harry’s answering grin was blinding. "You have no idea."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are very welcome.
> 
> Come say hi on my [tumblr!](http://www.converseandglitteryboots.tumblr.com)


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